JAWAAN (2023) : review

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And finally the much hyped, much awaited Jawaan saw light of the day ! Big stars, big budget( humongous budget actually), big music composer, everything super large. But does it meet the expectations of the average viewer? No it goes not. Read on.  A decorated jawan locks horns with a criminal called Kaali, this is in 1986 ( the year movies like Aakhri Raasta released, just for reference). Kaali gets him eliminated and send the pregnant wife to jail. The baby born in jail grows up to become the hero (look alike of the father) and decides to avenge the misdeeds done to his innocent patriotic parents. Well, isn’t it a masaaledaar full on Bollywood- Tollywood drama subject ?  And then the director Atlee also borrows ideas and references from various retro movies, some idea from Sholay (1975) as the hero assembled a gang of jailed Qaidis in order to form a team to nab the villain, then there’s an entire episode borrowed from Dhartiputra (1993), and the basic theme is copy pasted ...
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Alvida Chintu Ji

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Is that a tear eyed farewell to the evergreen chocolate boy (perhaps the original most successful chocolate boy) of Bollywood ? One who lived life on his own terms always in high spirits. In the last 4-5 years of his glorious life he gained more popularity as a straightforward blunt and outspoken Twitter veteran. 

The late Rishi Kapoor lovingly called chintu was the second son to showman Raj Kapoor who introduced him with his magnum opus Mera Naam Joker(1970), it was his solo lead in the blockbuster Bobby(1973) that catapulted him to overnight stardom and the big league. The 70s saw an emergence of angry young men led by tall and dominating Amitabh along with Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha and Dharmendra but little chintu kept his stardom intact appearing in solo hits like Khel Khel Mein(1975), Raffoo Chakker(1975), Sargam(1979), Karz(1980) and multi starrer biggies like Kabhi Kabhie (1976), Amar Akbar Anthony(1977), Naseeb(1981), Coolie(1983) and several others. He continued to deliver hits even in the 90s with Henna(1991), Deewana(1992), Bol Radha Bol(1992) and Damini(1993) wearing bubbly sweaters adding chocolate charm to his chubby cheeks. 

His best phase were his second innings in the 2000s wherein he experimented with challenging roles in movies like Agneepath(2011), Aurangzeb(2013) and the very charming grandfather’s role in Kapoor and sons(2015). One can’t ignore his magnificent contribution to Indian cinema, Bollywood in particular wherein he charmed his way into the hearts of viewers with his romantic interludes and heartwarming performances. Married to his most frequent co star actress Neetu Singh for 40 years, they experienced a roller coaster fairy tale togetherness! 

So there ! The eternally lovable chocolate boy Chintu Ji will be missed , missed terribly on screen and on twitter as well. They don’t make like him anymore. 

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